THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Gerard's Downtown Restaurant Review

: Freshness is a relative term when it comes to restaurant food, and the standard for it in New Orleans is set in the kitchen of Gerards Downtown, which opened in late 1998. Proprietor-chef Gerard Maras relies on his own, homegrown garden for much of the vegetables gracing the plates at Gerards. And he uses them to excellent advantage, in some of the most straightforward, rewarding food youll encounter. Crisp salad greens, pungent or delicate in flavor, glory in the presence of such additives as Parmigiano-Reggiano, satiny goat cheese, dulcet strawberries, bracingly seasoned crab meat and ripe avocado. Crab reappears with nuggets of fresh asparagus in a state-of-the-art risotto. A butter-moistened cake of sliced potato escorts a thick and luscious pork chop swathed in herbs. The kitchens self-sufficiency extends to the delicious breads, and paper-thin, velvety ravioli holding bits of lobster in a broth with the subtle flavors of leek and saffron. Desserts can range from homey and hearty fruit tarts to the irresistible dessert called Theobrama, a pat of super-rich dark-chocolate cake submerged in a milk-chocolate sauce and topped with whipped cream. Enjoy them while contemplating the dining rooms view of the marble columns of the stately old City Hall and the nearby grove of sinuous oak trees in Lafayette Square. Olive-hued walls and deep-red mahogany furniture give the single dining room a cozy warmth.